Ma Rainey

"Too big to miss and too loud to ignore"

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    members

    Louis Armstrong, Tommy Ladnier, Fletcher Henderson and Coleman Hawkins

    tags

    public domain, r&b, americana, 78 RPM, delta, ma rainey, blues, old jazz, 1900, muzic, mp34u, fakemarainey

    into

    WOMEN

    state of mind

    lovin' & ragin'

    vices

    smokin', drinkin', staying out all night, hanging out in bars, living large, loving the wrong men, loving the right women.....and going to church.

    favorite artists

    Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Son House, Tommy Ladnier, Fletcher Henderson and Coleman Hawkins.

    favorite movies

    Jurassic Park
    GENRES: country/folk, blues, jazz, rhythm & blues, delta
    LOCATION: Columbus GA, US
    WEBSITE: http://fakemarainey.blogspot.com/
     PERMALINK:
    About
     
    Gertrude Pridgett, or Ma Rainey as she is more commonly known, was born on April 26, 1886 in Columbus, Georgia, to parents, Thomas and Ella Pridgrett, minstrel show entertainers. When Gertrude was just 14 years old, she followed in her parents footsteps and embarked upon a career in entertaining; she began performing at an opera house in a show called “A Bunch of Black Berries.”

    Four years later, in 1904, she met and married William Rainey, a performer in a minstrel show that had come to her town. Gertrude began traveling and performing as a dancer, singer, and comedienne with her husband. He called himself “Pa,” so Gertrude adopted “Ma” as her stage name. They traveled throughout the South with various minstrel shows and circuses, including the Rabbit Foot Minstrels.

    There were several names the Rainey’s called their show, but they were most known as “Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues.” They performed in a large tent on a stage floor made of wood plank and used lanterns for lighting. The simplicity of the forum led to Rainey developing one important skill: she learned to “shout” due to the lack of a microphone.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Rainey